Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:22 pm
Not strictly a drainage issue this but seems to be a fair few people on here who know about building in general so thought it worth asking for advice. The following has not happened to me but a friend of mine, so I'm hoping people can offer some advice.
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I am in a right mess and really worried, hoping someone on here might be able to help me out.
I bought a house a while ago, which was a bit scruffy but OK. I lived there for a bit then decided it would be nice to extend the kitchen a little. Hired a builder through recommendation from a friend, got a quote, got the work done, lots of banging about and cold and inconvenience but it got done and I was happy with the result.
The work comprised -
Getting the roof fixed. It WAS part tiled (ridge) a small part felt and part corrugated plastic - apart from the tiled part it was leaky, uninsulated and in a poor state. My fridge, freezer and washing machine were all put where the original points and plumbing were, in the corrugated plastic bit which was a separate room next to the kitchen.
It is NOW part ridged and tiled, part felted, with good insulation and a skylight - but is higher than it was so it fulfils building regs.
Knocking down the walls between the kitchen and the plastic roofed bit, and the main house and the plastic bit.
Putting in partition wall, door and window between the main house and the new larger kitchen, and another partition wall and door between the kitchen and a smaller back room.
Building a new brick pillar and fitting a double-glazed door at the back of the new small wall, on top of where the old back wall, door and window were.
Making the electrics safe (it was on a spur now it's on a ring, apparently, and apparently that's safer and correct), putting in a couple of new sockets and new lights (spots) because there's a new ceiling.
Making the drains and water safer and more sensible, there was an open drain inside the plastic roofed bit now the drainage all runs into an outside drain, and the sink and dishwasher plumbing are both together and in a different place.
Digging up the floor, putting in insulation and damp proof under new concrete, and tiling it.
I am quite sure that all the work done has been done to the proper specifications and has made the house safer. However, the builder did not get building regs in (which he said was not really necessary because there was no change to the dimensions of the house, so to speak) and does not have electrical certification to do work in kitchens. When he quoted, he said he would get a friend to do the electrical work who is certified - then decided part way through to do the work himself and get his friend to commission - then denied saying any of this when I queried it when the work was complete, and got really arsey about it - basically he under-quoted and is mad about being out of pocket. And really stupidly, I didn't get any of it in writing.
And now, of course, I need to sell the house....
Added complication is that I had to get damp-proofing work done, and the certificate shows the old house layout. The new layout exposes one small section of wall that was not exposed before. If the survey shows damp in that wall, and the buyer went to the same damp-proofing guy that I did, and he noticed that the wall on his plan diagram isn't there any more etc. and happened to comment on it...
Jesus, what a mess. I am so stupid, I should have made sure I got it in writing and got it done by someone reputable, but I was really skint at the time and the guy seemed honest and reliable - and to be fair I think he did the right stuff, just without the right bits of paper.
I'm sorry that's a really long and complicated post but I just wanted some advice on what to do to get out of this horrible mess. I could get the damp-proofing checked and corrected if necessary and provide a new certificate, but how much of this was actually outside of regulations, how bad is it, and how likely is it that anyone will notice?
Sammy
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The main issue as far as I know is that a new roof has gone on, and it probably weighs a fair bit more than the old roof, but the builder only put new foundations in for the exterior wall. The roof beams which run towards the interior wall (i.e. the dividing wall between Sammy's house and next door's house) are essentially just sat on top of the wall, so there's no way to know what's going on with the existing foundations, i.e. whether or not they are deep enough.
If Sammy tries to sell the house as-is, are there going to be a lot of problems? E.g. with HIPS packs, would she need to declare the work she's had done, and the potential issues with it? (And the fact there's being no building inspector to look at it!)
I should clarify that the work wasn't really an extension, more of a renovation since the house is the same size (plan area). The idea was to re-do the kitchen, which has been enlarged by including a lobby area that was next to it, by taking the roof off both and putting a new roof in to make one room. But the overall plan dimensions of the house are the same.
-------------
I am in a right mess and really worried, hoping someone on here might be able to help me out.
I bought a house a while ago, which was a bit scruffy but OK. I lived there for a bit then decided it would be nice to extend the kitchen a little. Hired a builder through recommendation from a friend, got a quote, got the work done, lots of banging about and cold and inconvenience but it got done and I was happy with the result.
The work comprised -
Getting the roof fixed. It WAS part tiled (ridge) a small part felt and part corrugated plastic - apart from the tiled part it was leaky, uninsulated and in a poor state. My fridge, freezer and washing machine were all put where the original points and plumbing were, in the corrugated plastic bit which was a separate room next to the kitchen.
It is NOW part ridged and tiled, part felted, with good insulation and a skylight - but is higher than it was so it fulfils building regs.
Knocking down the walls between the kitchen and the plastic roofed bit, and the main house and the plastic bit.
Putting in partition wall, door and window between the main house and the new larger kitchen, and another partition wall and door between the kitchen and a smaller back room.
Building a new brick pillar and fitting a double-glazed door at the back of the new small wall, on top of where the old back wall, door and window were.
Making the electrics safe (it was on a spur now it's on a ring, apparently, and apparently that's safer and correct), putting in a couple of new sockets and new lights (spots) because there's a new ceiling.
Making the drains and water safer and more sensible, there was an open drain inside the plastic roofed bit now the drainage all runs into an outside drain, and the sink and dishwasher plumbing are both together and in a different place.
Digging up the floor, putting in insulation and damp proof under new concrete, and tiling it.
I am quite sure that all the work done has been done to the proper specifications and has made the house safer. However, the builder did not get building regs in (which he said was not really necessary because there was no change to the dimensions of the house, so to speak) and does not have electrical certification to do work in kitchens. When he quoted, he said he would get a friend to do the electrical work who is certified - then decided part way through to do the work himself and get his friend to commission - then denied saying any of this when I queried it when the work was complete, and got really arsey about it - basically he under-quoted and is mad about being out of pocket. And really stupidly, I didn't get any of it in writing.
And now, of course, I need to sell the house....
Added complication is that I had to get damp-proofing work done, and the certificate shows the old house layout. The new layout exposes one small section of wall that was not exposed before. If the survey shows damp in that wall, and the buyer went to the same damp-proofing guy that I did, and he noticed that the wall on his plan diagram isn't there any more etc. and happened to comment on it...
Jesus, what a mess. I am so stupid, I should have made sure I got it in writing and got it done by someone reputable, but I was really skint at the time and the guy seemed honest and reliable - and to be fair I think he did the right stuff, just without the right bits of paper.
I'm sorry that's a really long and complicated post but I just wanted some advice on what to do to get out of this horrible mess. I could get the damp-proofing checked and corrected if necessary and provide a new certificate, but how much of this was actually outside of regulations, how bad is it, and how likely is it that anyone will notice?
Sammy
-------------------
The main issue as far as I know is that a new roof has gone on, and it probably weighs a fair bit more than the old roof, but the builder only put new foundations in for the exterior wall. The roof beams which run towards the interior wall (i.e. the dividing wall between Sammy's house and next door's house) are essentially just sat on top of the wall, so there's no way to know what's going on with the existing foundations, i.e. whether or not they are deep enough.
If Sammy tries to sell the house as-is, are there going to be a lot of problems? E.g. with HIPS packs, would she need to declare the work she's had done, and the potential issues with it? (And the fact there's being no building inspector to look at it!)
I should clarify that the work wasn't really an extension, more of a renovation since the house is the same size (plan area). The idea was to re-do the kitchen, which has been enlarged by including a lobby area that was next to it, by taking the roof off both and putting a new roof in to make one room. But the overall plan dimensions of the house are the same.